The New President Will Change Our Jobs

Climate Change and Green Jobs are part of the new administration

Emphasis on clean energy and a green industry are part of the turn around plan presented by future President Barack Obama. Recently the house moved to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill.

According to the summary of the bill the stimulus will:

Put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient

$32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.

$16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.

$6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.

Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge-technologies, and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.

$10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation.

$6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.

Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways: To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to create jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, modernize public buildings, and put people to work cleaning our air, water and land.

$30 billion for highway construction;

$31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost savings;

$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.

This is a summary of just some of the recommendations of the act. It appears that the emphasis on energy efficiency, infrastructure, and emerging technologies is key.

How will his administration change our job?

Increase in energy efficiency for new and existing buildings. New technologies and building design will challenge us through plan review and inspection.

Increase in demand of laboratory space and experimental technologies. These unknown occupancies will put an increased demand during plan review and associated inspections

Need for resources for inspectors to assist in these developing areas. The model building codes may not address some of the emerging technologies and will require code officials to go beyond the current scope of the code and make some assumptions.

Training for inspectors on safe practices and installation of energy efficient equipment such as solar panels, wind, and other power sources.

Code changes should be made by code officials as the code is challenged in the upcoming years. For instance the developmental testing of lead acid batteries is not clearly found in the multiple code bodies and should be expanded based on the experiences found in the filed.

Not to mention that our elected officials will be involved in these funded, high profile projects. That will add many demands to our job such as increased communication to city hall, request to reduce permit fees, a need to accelerate the permit process, and the need for quick inspections.

In addition some of our municipal buildings will be eligible for funding through the act. This will also add to our demand as our communities rely on our expertise in the construction process. It is definitely a needed step in the United States economy and it will be an interesting ride, are you ready?